The In-Vitro Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Basella Alba L. On Osmotic Fragility of Red Blood Cells in Hbss Subjects

The aqueous leaf extracts of Basella alba were investigated in the present study for their in-vitro effect on red blood cell fragility in clinically confirmed HbSS subjects. A total of 12 human subjects, six (6) male and six (6) female with HbSS were used for this study. In-vitro osmotic fragility was determined spectrophotometrically by obtaining optical density at wavelength of 540nm. 5-6 ml of blood was obtained from each subject and analyzed with the use of 15 centrifuge tubes, divided into 5 per group. The first group served as the control (without Basella alba), the second group contained low dose (0.2mg/ml) of Basella alba and the third group contained high dose (0.4mg/ml) of Basella alba in varying saline percentages of 0.0%, 0.3%, 0.6%, 0.9% and 1.2%. Hemolysis occurred at all saline percentages; however, low dose and high dose of aqueous extract of Basella alba reduced the percentage of hemolysis in all subjects, especially in the males. This suggests that there might be a possible synergistic activity between Basella alba and androgens, by which Basella alba reduces hemolysis of red blood cells, combined with its anti-anemic effect, thereby, maintaining the high red blood cell count seen in males. Thus, it is advised that Basella alba should be consumed regularly by sicklers, in order to help reduce the occurrence of hemolytic anemia.